Hantz Farms President Mike Score takes a break Wednesday at a lot on Holcomb that is being prepped for spring planting of tree saplings. 'Our goal is to make the neighborhood more livable,' he says.

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As springtime blossoms in Detroit, two long-promised big urban agriculture efforts finally are getting under way in earnest.

On Friday, the RecoveryPark project off East Grand Boulevard began construction of a "high tunnel," a sort of greenhouse measuring 30 by about 145 feet, in which more than two dozen varieties of herbs and vegetables will be grown for sale to local restaurants and markets.

And on May 17, about 500 volunteers are expected to plant thousands of saplings for the Hantz Woodlands urban forest project on about 20 acres of cleared, vacant land on Detroit's east side. ...